John l



(No Model.) 4

J.L.TANDY.

. CORN THINNER. v .No. 501,594. Patented July 18, 1.8.93;

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

JOHN L. ITANIDIY, or COLUMBIA, MISSOURI.

CORN-THINNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,594, dated July 18, 1893.

Applicationfiled July 30. 1892. SerialNo. 441,721. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. TANDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Boone and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen ts in Corn-Thinners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,'clear, and exact description of the in vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in corn thinners, (not pullers) of that class which employ a staff or standard provided at one end with a suitable handle and at'its other end with a cutting blade, an auxiliary arm pivoted on the main staff at an intermediate point of its length, and means for forcing the lower end of the auxiliary arm against the face of the main staff.

My invention further consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully pointed out and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation partially broken away of a corn thinner constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of modified constructions. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the elastic pads or cushions.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings, referring to which I A designates the main staff, to the lower end of which is adjustably connected a cutting blade B, preferably made concaveor curved in cross section. The sides of the cutting blade are preferably inclined outwardly from the upper to their lower ends, so that the blade is widest at its base, for the purpose of preventing dirt from clogging thereon when the implement is in use.

The main arm or staff A may be composed of two parallel pieces a, a, joined togetherat their upper and lower ends and separated by a central vertical slot or passage, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or said staff may be formed from a single piece of any suitable and desirable material. In both cases a hand rest 0 is swiveled or pivotally connected to the On the staff A, at an intermediate point ofits length or between the two parallel pieces a, a, when the staff is formed in that manner, is fulcrumed an auxiliary arm D which is provided near its lower end, on its inner face adjacent to the main arm or staff A with an elastic pad or cushion (Z which, when the lower end of the auxiliary arm is forced against the main arm or staff, by means to be hereinafter described, contacts with a similar pad or cushion e secured on the curved face of the cutting blade B attached to'the main arm or staff A. v

The pads or cushions on the auxiliary arm or cutting blade are made concave on their inner adjacent faces and said faces are preferably corrugated or roughened to enable them to grasp the stalk or root, to be removed, more securely.

The cutting blade B is preferably attached to the staff A in the manner shown in Fig. 2 in which said blade is provided with a series of vertically aligned openings or apertures b, in one end of which is fitted a suitable attaching bolt which is connected to a plate I) attached to the staff A so that by securing the bolt in different apertures in the blade B, said blade can be adjusted longitudinally on the staff A, as desired.

In the preferred embodiment of my inven tion I secure on the main staff A or between the parallel pieces a, a, when the staff is formed in that manner, two rollers F, and between these rollers extends a curved operating arm G one end of which is provided with a suitable handle g and the other end is at tached to the upper end of the auxiliary arm D. By raising the handle 9 the arm G will be drawn through the space between the rollers F and the auxiliary arm drawn toward the main staff A so that the free lowerv end thereof will be forced against the face of the blade B and operate to grasp any stalk it is desired to remove, the'roots of which have been severed by the cutting blade. By depressing the handle g the auxiliary arm will be forced away from the main arm A.

The rollers F may be provided with an annular peripheral groove if desired.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, I have illustrated modified forms of operating mechanism for moving the auxiliary arm toward or away from the main arm or staff A. In the construction shown in Fig. 3, the arm G is pivoted on the main staff A and said arm extends through an eye H formed on one side of the auxiliary arm. In the other construction shown in Fig. 4 the operating arm G is pivoted on the main staff A and is provided with a longitudinal slot K in which is fitted a roller L attached to the auxiliary arm D near the upper end thereof.

The operation and advantages of my improvements will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art to which it relates.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construction of the devices herein shown and described as an embodiment of my invention can be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the same.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an article of manufacture, an implement consisting of astatf provided at one end with a cutting blade, an auxiliary arm pivoted on the stafi, means for moving the auxiliary arm toward or away from the staif, and a hand rest provided at one end with a depending sleeve adapted to fit loosely on the upper end of the staff, substantially as described.

2. As an article of manufacture an implement consisting of a longitudinallyslotted staff provided at one end with a cutting blade, an auxiliary arm pivoted within the slot in the stafi, and an operating arm attached to the auxiliary arm and extending between rollers onthe main staff, substantially as described.

3. As an article of manufacture, an implement consisting of a longitudinally slotted staff, a concave cutting blade adj ustably connected to the lower end of said staff, a hand rest loosely mounted on the upper end of the staff, an auxiliary arm pivoted to the main staff within the slot therein, and means for moving the auxiliary arm toward or away from the stafi, substantially as described.

4. As an article of manufacture, an implement consisting of a longitudinally slotted staff, a cutting blade adj ustably connected to the lower end of said staff, ahand rest loosely mounted on the upper end of the staff, an auxiliary arm pivoted to the main staif within the slot therein, a pair of rollers journaled within the slot in the staff above the pivot point of the auxiliary arm, and an operating arm extending between said rollers and connected at one end with the auxiliary arm, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a staff provided at its lower end with a cutting blade, an auxiliaryarm pivoted to the main arm at an intermediate point of its length, and elastic pads or cushions securedon the adjacent faces of the cutting blade and auxiliary arm, said pads having their adjacent concave faces corrugated or roughened, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ai'lix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

.INO. L. TANDY.

lVitnesses:

W. S. JOHNSTON, R. F. BAsHAw. 

